Thunderous celebration at Mac High

Related Articles

Comments

NatetheGreat

Nice to see they're doing it outside again. After my graduation in 2001 when Jared Allen streaked, they moved it into the gym for a few years.

09:06 am - Sat, June 9 2012

Reporter Starla Pointer

While that's a touching story, Nate, it's incorrect. Mac High graduations have been taking place outdoors since at least the mid-1990s -- all at Wortman Stadium except for one year when commencement moved to LInfield's Memorial Stadium, because of construction. I've attended, and covered, almost every graduation since the early 1980s. Yes, I remember the streaker at your 2001 graduation, along with the beachballs and other light-hearted antics. And yes, that led to changes -- efforts to add decorum by making it ticket-only and encouraging respectful behavior -- but not to a move back to the gym. There simply isn't room inside for 400 or more graduates and their relatives and friends.

01:50 pm - Sat, June 9 2012

Heatherlee3

Are the graduates listed in today's paper? or did I miss it?

02:09 pm - Sat, June 9 2012

Reporter Starla Pointer

We run the names of all graduating seniors in stories previewing the graduations. Mac High's list ran in Wednesday's paper, and can be found under "local news"on this website -- you may have to scroll back through the list of stories a ways, since a lot of stories have been added since then.

07:56 pm - Sat, June 9 2012

Heatherlee3

Okay, thanks. Are there copies at the office still available to purchase at all?

09:50 pm - Sat, June 9 2012

Reporter Starla Pointer

Absolutely. Mac High's list is in the June 6 paper.

11:43 pm - Sat, June 9 2012

Don Dix

Starla,

Mac High has been holding graduations outdoors (weather permitting) since at least '65 (mine). The '75 graduation was also held @ Linfield.

The Linfield event was the site of possibly the first attempt at streaking the graduation -- two seniors, wearing only boots and helmets, attempted to ride motorcycles between the the seated graduates, but the lead bike failed to negotiate the broad jump lane and flipped over. The trailing bike immediately turned around and 'got out of Dodge'. The crashed rider finally started his bike after many, many attempts. He was last seen laying the bike down near the baseball field and running down S. Davis. Stupid human tricks -- comedy in it's purest form.

It's truly a shame that the age of video in every hand wasn't available, because any video of this would have set records on You Tube.

09:04 am - Sun, June 10 2012

Reporter Starla Pointer

At least the legend lives on, passed down in story from generation to generation!

Thanks for providing a more complete history of outdoor generations. I know there's been a few inside here and there -- I remember photographing one in the '80s so photographer Tom Ballard could relax and watch one of his kids graduate. It was hot, stuffy and super-crowded, even back then.

If you go to numerous graduations around Yamhill County, as reporter Paul Daquilante and I do, you'll know that almost all are held outside these days. Amity continued holding theirs in the gym until quite recently, but now it's held in the fresh air as well.

My own high school graduation was June 4, 1978, in the Reedsport High School gym -- 100 Braves heading out to conquer the world. Linfield was the first place I experienced an outdoor graduation.

09:49 am - Sun, June 10 2012

Don Dix

Whether it rates a legend status or not, I don't know -- but I do know it happened, just as explained. Seeing a stupid plan go completely wrong -- priceless!

02:05 pm - Sun, June 10 2012

ronpaul2012

Yeaaaa buddy, More children to pass our debt onto! Lets celebrate!The indoctrination of our schools, already happend. Either told lies, or half the story, or even just plain wrong answers. purposely to dumb us down...Any reason they put extra fluoride in the water system at the school?

Added fluoride is a toxic poison often loaded with arsenic, mercury, and other toxins